


Once Upon a Dream: The Prequel

by Fiamma



Series: Once upon a dream [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Children to Teens, Connected Dreams, Feel-good, Fluff, M/M, a lot of fluff, as little angst as possible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 04:44:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19783522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiamma/pseuds/Fiamma
Summary: There must be someone out there who understood. He just needed one person, one who wasn’t his dad, who wasn’t looming over him or wanted him to do things for them, someone who didnt care about his ratty clothes or his uncut hair, someone who he could just be himself around. Someone who understood.When night came, and he ascended to his dreamscape, he didnt play around as he usually did.He’d caught sight of a dark spot high above him and he was watching it intently, frowning as if it would disappear if only he looked at it angrily enough.Was his dreamscape breaking?_______A prequel to Once upon a dream, the plot is as straightforward as I can make it, with as much fluff as I can possibly throw in there.This story is set in a semi 'perfect' universe where things just ... work out, somehow.Its also just because I liked the universe of 'Once upon a dream' and wanted to explore it a bit more!Join me in seeing what led these two idiots to finding each other!(warnings and tags may change)





	Once Upon a Dream: The Prequel

“Mama! Mama!” Lance cried out, but the sound was mangled by his missing front teeth. 

He’d just lost them that day and they were now situated in the clear plastic baggie he held up over his head as he jumped for her attention. She shushed him gently as she rocked his younger sister on her hip.

“What is it, son?” she asked, her voice a little hoarse, as she peered down at him over her youngest child’s head. 

“Look! Tooths!” He waved the bag quicker and heard a gasp behind him just as his mother muttered something about that being nice. He turned, grinning brightly as his oldest sister’s fiance bent down next to him and inspected the plastic baggie.

“My oh my! That means you’re becoming a big boy!” she said, her blonde hair catching the sun’s rays and it created a halo around her head that accurately portrayed her position in Lance’s mind right at that moment.

The setting sun painted the veranda orange and the smoke of cigars and the smell of roast sausage floated towards the three, and a half, sitting on the elevated part overlooking the small patch of orange trees his mother had planted to, apparently, bring more orange to their already rather orange home. 

Lance thought the ones from Biatriz’s garden tasted better, but his mother had expressly forbidden him to snatch any more of those.

For now, however, his mind was not focused on oranges, not when Janet, his sister’s fiance rose from her squat next to him and ushered him inside as he started chanting;

“Perez! Perez! Perez!” and she gave a warm chuckle. 

“You know, up north in the states, we call him ‘the tooth fairy’” she said wisely, and Lance listened with half an ear as she helped him pour a glass of water. 

“And to us Perez is a girl, and we keep our teeth under our pillow, not in a glass of water.” She still wobbled a bit in her pronunciation, having only started learning spanish when she met Lance’s sister, so he laughed and repeated some of the words for her.

She repeated them back to him, and then they both laughed when she grimaced and said some gibberish he later would know was an english curse word.

She held out the water and he carefully slid the teeth out of the baggie and let them plop into the clear liquid, watching them slowly float down with excited fascination.

“Do you think he’ll bring me a new schoolbag?” Lance asked, eyes big and hopeful.

“He might if you go to bed within the hour” his father stated from the doorframe. He was bigger than any other man Lance had ever seen, and he filled up all of his vision as he swooped Lance up to sit on his hip. Lance grinned and hugged him around the neck, burying his face in a mass of black hair and let him carry him into the bedroom he shared with one of his older brothers who had already gotten ready and was sitting on his bed flipping through a ratty old comic. 

His father put him down, and Janet placed the glass of water containing the teeth on the floor next to his bed with a strict warning not to tip it over as he got in. Lance laid down on his bed and hung his head over the edge to look down at it, watching as though something would happen; as if perhaps he could see the Mouse of Teeth in action.

“Do you think there’s a comic about Perez?” He asked his father who was now sitting at the other end of the bed, watching him fondly.

“Of course! There’s even a museum dedicated to him” his father promised and then laughed at the way Lance’s eyes lit up. “But now little boys have to go to sleep - You too Thio” he said, slightly more sternly to the boy at the other end of the room.

“Yes papa” they both said in unison, and although it was clear Thio was attempting to be difficult, they both smirked a little, Lance proudly showcasing the hole where his two teeth had been that very morning. 

His father left the room, and his mother entered and pressed a kiss to his forehead before having a small conversation with his brother. When she left, his two eldest siblings both peeked in and whispered a goodnight before finally the door shut and there was silence.

“Your teeth are stupid” Thio said from the other side of the room.

“No they’re not” Lance retorted indignantly.

“Perez is stupid”.

“No he’s not”

They continued like that for a little bit, until Lance could hear slow, shallow breaths from his brother and he peeked his head over the edge of the bed again. 

He could barely make out the two little spots at the bottom of the glass in the darkness. He smiled to himself. He knew Perez would come. He would come, and he would see what Lance wanted most in the world, he would know exactly what Lance wanted.

He fell back unto his pillow and giggled to himself.

He was so full of restless energy! How was he supposed to sleep? He wanted to see Perez, but he also wanted to be a good boy and fall asleep quickly so he wouldn’t disturb the mouse’s work. He fidgeted.

What he wanted most in the world …

He had lied to his parents, but he didn't feel bad about it. He did want a new school bag, but really? He wanted someone his own age. His classmates weren’t fun to play with, their parents didnt like his family because his father was argentinian, and Thio, who was the closest to him in age, was always so mean. He wasn’t lonely, he had his family and he was happy. He didn't want a friend all the time just … sometimes. Just someone to always be there. Someone .. different perhaps?

He knew Perez would know what he meant. 

He felt his eyelids get heavy and he smiled to himself. He knew Perez would deliver. He’d given him that pretty stone the last time, hadn’t he? Exactly like the one he’d lost at the beach…

*****

It was cold, and windy, and Keith couldn’t fall asleep. Outside his room he could hear his dad coughing and he felt his stomach clench. His room was barely more than a broom closet, and he knew he should be happy he even had his own room at all, regardless of how his bed creaked alarmingly, or his bedcovers smelled like catpiss or how hungry he was. His dad could barely pay the bills as it was. 

His stomach rumbled. 

It was okay, he was okay. Soon he’d return to his haven, to that place in the clouds he could just be alone, without any pain or feelings or anything at all. No dad coughing up blood, no mother who had left, no school, or bullies or fights or strict teachers who would -

Nothing.

A safe space.

He felt his heart flutter as he ascended slowly. He felt pink clouds envelop him and spread warmth throughout his body as he twirled to land on his feet in this enormous dreamscape. The floor was crystal and around him were intricate glass flowers he had created with but a thought. He swung his arms out and smiled at how light he felt. He jumped and it felt like he was flying before he landed on his back on a cloud that floated through and brought him high up in the air. Then it let him fall and he shrieked in excitement as he plummeted, only to stop gently a meter from the ground and float from there. 

He played around for a while more, enjoyed the feeling this place gave him, its lightheartedness, how it radiated happiness and warmth and _ love. _

Just as he truly felt himself relax he woke to a knock on the door.

“School” came a hoarse voice, then more coughing.

Keith got out of bed quickly, grabbing whatever clothes laid closest and picked up his schoolbag. He slowly opened the door and peeked out.

His dad was sitting on the sofa they had moved into the kitchen, the one that was too low to really be sat at while using the kitchen table. The middle-aged man looked up and gave a small smile.

“Always so quick” he said, almost to himself, “When I was little it took me an hour before I was ready to go”

Keith shrugged, enjoying the praise but making no indication of it.

He dropped his bag by the edge of the couch and went to the kitchen to check for food. It was mostly empty, save for anything that couldn’t grow mold, with only some crackers, a can of spay-cheese and cans of baked beans huddling in a corner of a cupboard. He picked up the package of crackers and sat down next to his dad. The packaging rustled almost like candy would, but when he put a cracker in his mouth it was bland and tasteless. 

He chewed quietly as his dad read a newspaper next to him. He could see little circles outlining jobs, but knew that his dad wouldn’t want him to ask about it, so he didnt. 

As he walked towards the door he heard coughing behind him, but kept his gaze down as he shrugged on a jacket and zipped it up. He did his laces on his own.

As he was about to take the first step outside he heard a “take care” from the kitchen and he responded with a grunt as he pushed the door closed.

The day went just like all the others and when he returned home he felt just as frustrated as he always did.

He didnt understand why people were so self-centered, so dumb. He thought he’d finally made a friend, but then when he told him wouldn’t beat up some other kid who had refused to pay him back money he’d loudly informed him their friendship was over, and for the first time in at least a week Keith had been eating lunch alone again.

The month before it had been the pity train of a pair of twins who had gotten the impression he was a pet they should dress up, because he was ‘oh so poor’ and ‘havent had a hair cut in years!’

He clutched his left side gingerly as he maneuvered past his dad and into his room, sitting on his bed and turning a paper airplane in his hands. 

There must be someone out there who understood. He just needed one person, one who wasn’t his dad, who wasn’t looming over him or wanted him to do things for them, someone who didnt care about his ratty clothes or his uncut hair, someone who he could just be himself around. Someone who understood.

When night came, and he ascended to his dreamscape, he didnt play around as he usually did.

He’d caught sight of a dark spot high above him and he was watching it intently, frowning as if it would disappear if only he looked at it angrily enough.

Was the dreamscape breaking? 

After another few moments he braced himself, then jumped as hard as he could, launching himself towards that dark spot, intent to close it or repair it or do something so it wouldn’t spread. But the dreamscape didn’t allow him to feel terrified of the implications, only a sense of … excitement?

It wasn’t until he was much much closer he realized it was another boy. 

He gulped, but his trajectory was already set, and there was little he could do as he catapulted into the other at a dizzying speed. They both fell unto the crystal floor as gently as ever, floating the last meter, and had no trouble getting up afterwards. There was no pain here, there was usually no feelings at all, but now Keith’s heart felt like it was beating out of his chest and he felt drawn to this other child as if there was a cord attached to him,  _ pulling him.  _

The other had by now sat up and was looking all around him with his mouth open and his eyes so wide it looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. Keith approached him slowly, carefully. The kid only seemed to realize his presence when he was already touching his shoulder. 

His head whipped around and then he grinned so brightly Keith thought he might go blind. A toothy smile, missing its two front teeth and his eyes crinkled together. 

Keith, somehow, found himself hopelessly grinning back and he couldn’t find it in him to feel upset that his solitude had been interrupted. He helped the other boy up, not that it was difficult, and they both laughed when he pulled too hard and they fell on a heap onto one another. They jumped around in the clouds, and Keith felt a sense of pride when he saw how difficult his new friend thought it was to get the clouds to pick him up and carry him around. Had he ever had difficulty with it? He couldn’t remember.

He laughed when the other looked frightened as Keith jumped off his cloud and fell towards the ground, only to join him a moment later and they both cried out in excitement when they reached terminal velocity. 

The crystal caught them, as always, and they were only ever left with that feeling of hope, and pink and love.

Keith didn’t know what came over him, but as they jumped for the third time he reached out and hugged the other kid so hard he thought he might break. Never had he felt so happy just being with someone, and perhaps it was simply the dreamscape, and perhaps this really was just a variation to this dream, but he felt so genuinely happy he couldn’t help himself. 

He awoke with a start by a knock on his door.

“School”

On any other day, he would’ve vaulted out of bed, eager to show his father he was trying his best and would be an exemplary child, but today he lingered. He closed his eyes, trying to will the dream back to his mind, wishing with all his might that his playmate would perhaps manifest in his room somehow.

Another knock on his door.

“Keith?” His father sounded worried, a little exasperated. Keith got up and changed his clothes quickly. 

“Coming!” he called, and rushed out the door.

The next night, Keith floated into his dreamscape alone as usual and immediately started staring up at the sky. He didn’t even jump around. He just stood there as if spellbound, as if every fiber of his body knew he would have a playmate soon, that he just needed to wait right there -

At first it was just a pinprick of something non-pink in the sky, until it gradually started taking on more and more human proportions. Keith braced, then shot off as he had the day before, but instead of colliding, he grappled the other boy and brought them both sprawling unto a cloud where they wrestled gleefully. 

They jumped from cloud to cloud. They laughed. Keith taught the other kid how to better ‘summon’ the clouds and they just  _ played. _

The dream ended that day with a fistbump and Keith woke to a knock on his door.

That day at school he didn’t get into any fights.

That same week, his father was admitted to the state hospital and Keith stayed the first few nights in the hospital with him, curled up in a chair. The dreamscape still provided a spot of brightness amongst the LED lights of his father’s room and the long hallways and many hours spent doing nothing but look out the window and listening to the sound of beeping from his father’s bed.

He held his father’s hand as he passed away and he thought he hadn’t felt so alone in his entire life, until that night, when he sat on the crystal floor and didn’t want to look his playmate in the eye. 

He kept himself curled up into a ball, the dreamscape and the other child alike pulling on him to cheer him up. It all seemed a little more gray, the feeling of weightlessness a little less. He felt a tug on his sleeve and he looked up into azure blue eyes, brimming with tears he wished he could cry as well. He was aware his own face was cracking in grief, but he couldn’t get the emotions to properly take hold, couldn’t muster up the energy to let them out, so he just stared at the other boy.

They hugged so bone crushingly tight Keith could still feel it as he woke up to the sound of rustling bags and an engine. An older boy was peering at him from the seat next to him, and he was faintly aware that the father of that boy was driving the car he was sitting in. He stared back adamantly and received a sigh from the other and a clap on the shoulder. The rest of of the ride was just as silent as it had been before he had fallen asleep.

*****

“Mama?” Lance asked carefully. He was peering in through their bedroom door, a small strip of light from the hallway painting half of his mother’s face where she laid in her bed. He heard her shift, groan and saw her eyes open.

“Mmh?”

“Mama, what do I do if a friend is very sad?” He asked, his voice strained as if he had been crying, and it was enough to wake his mother up entirely. She slowly slid her legs out from under the covers and put her feet in the slippers on the floor. She shushed him gently as she ushered him out into the hallway and into the kitchen where they wouldn’t wake anyone else up in case Lance forgot his voice. 

“Who is sad, my son?” she asked, placing him on one of the high stools by their kitchen table as she ruffled through some cabinets. He didn’t hesitate one bit as he leaned over the table.

“The boy from my dreams” he said, “He was very very sad today.” 

He was frustrated at how poorly he felt he was able to convey the extent of the other boy’s sadness. It had felt as if his very own heart had broken into a million pieces just from the sight of the other, crumpled up with an expression that looked as if every ounce of happiness had been sucked straight out of him. He looked grey and sunken and and - 

Lance made an annoyed sound and then jumped as his mother placed a piece of apple in front of him. She told him to eat it as she sat down next to him and continued slicing the fruit. 

“You still have that dream?” she asked, and Lance nodded as he chewed.

“What was he sad about?” She continued, looking at Lance with heavy, yet warm eyes. Her voice was the usual hoarse, but didnt betray any discontent with being awoken in the middle of the night. 

“I dont know, I cant talk in the dream, and he never talks to me” he said, turning a piece of apple over in his hands. It was a green one.

“You already tried speaking, then?” she asked conversationally. Lance paused and wrinkled his brows. He’d sort of just .. known. He hadn’t actually tried, had he? He could remember laughing but had there been any sound? 

He wracked his brain for an answer.

“You should try to communicate with him, somehow; you won’t know how to help if you dont know whats wrong” his mother continued wisely as she offered him the last bit of apple which he chewed absentmindedly. 

*****

The next week Keith didn’t sleep a lot. Not that he didn’t try; His new ‘family’ had very strict bedtimes and ran the house almost like a military camp, at least as far as Keith was aware. Apparently his father had a brother who had been Keith’s godfather, something Keith was surprised to learn considering his father had never spoken of any sort of family before. 

Then, there had been so many other things to think about. 

When he thought about it, he struggled to think of times he and his father had spoken much more than two words to each other, and even then it had been about something else. Something more important. There was always something which had been more important.

He lived further south now, although he couldn’t remember the name of the state, and he was going to be homeschooled by his aunt so that meant no more bullies or fights behind the school. Keith couldn’t figure out what he thought about that, so he just tried not to think about it. 

He had to share a bedroom with the older boy from the car. ‘Shiro’ slept like a rock and talked in his sleep which meant Keith, a light sleeper, tossed and turned for ages.

When he finally did manage to float up into the pink clouds, he just stood there, waiting. Sometimes it would take what felt like hours, sometimes just a moment, until that little speck of darkness started growing high above him and he caught the other boy before he hit the crystal. It became easier, with time, to let go again and just laugh. Somehow, the dreamscape brightened a little bit each time the other kid grinned at him.

It had only been a couple of days into his new life with his new ‘family’ when the boy opened up his mouth to speak. Keith stood dumbfounded for a moment before realizing what he was trying to do. He’d never considered the possibility that they could communicate, had just appreciated his company for what it was, for the physicality of it, the warmth. 

Talking had never filled much in his life.

But now the boy was standing there, moving his mouth with excitement in his eyes, his hands whipping around as if he could mold meaning out of the clouds that surrounded them. 

But no sound accompanied it.

Keith furrowed his brows and shook his head slowly. The other boy just seemed to try to shout louder, the movements of his arms growing more frantic.

Keith hesitated, staring at his playmate and feeling oddly frozen amongst the warmth of pink fuzzy clouds. He was deliberating with himself if he wanted to talk, if it would change the dreamscape. What if he didnt like what his playmate was saying? What if it would make things difficult? No … No. 

He didnt want that. He didnt want his playmate to-

And then the other child disappeared. Blown away as if made of no more than dust and Keith frantically looked around, searching for him, looked above to see if there was a dark speck above him. He waited, frozen, with bated breath until he woke up.

The mornings started with a collective breakfast at 6 o'clock where he was served a piece of toast and a bowl of porridge along with an assortment of vegetables and fruit. Shiro, who sat next to him on the far side of the table ate energetically while answering politely to his parents’ questions. They tried to incorporate Keith into their morning routine, but it felt odd, clunky. They kept telling him he just needed to adjust. 

He ate barely half of what Shiro managed to devour and they were then both excused to go tidy up their room.

On their way up the stairs, Shiro rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath.

“So I’ll do the floor and such if you just tidy up the beds?” he asked, voice breaking halfway and making an odd sound that Keith chose to ignore. He nodded mutely.

“Alright, awesome bud” he said, and Keith was distinctly aware that he was struggling to find more words. He was a nice kid, and Keith knew he was one of the few children he’d met in his life he was certain harbored no ill will towards him, but it was so jarring. Keith felt like he might break if he looked at him too hard.

When their room looked pristine, they returned downstairs to receive lessons from his aunt who had apparently been a teacher before something had happened to her back and she couldn’t stand for long periods of time. Keith hadn’t bothered to know more about it, and no further information had been offered, so he left it at that. 

She was the kind of strained gentle Keith had seen in many other parents who had tried to engage with him when his father had been late with picking him up from school, but just like with Shiro, he was certain she harbored no ill will. Her lessons were easy enough, and she was the kind of strict he thought made sense for a mother.

He did feel at ease with them, just … uncertain. 

During the afternoon they were both sent outside to play in the garden. Keith at first just stood there awkwardly, looking out at the messy lawn and the patches of barely blooming flowers lining the terrace. He fiddled with the slightly oversized jacket he had been put in, one of Shiro’s old ones, he’d been told, when a ball gently rolled past him towards the wall of the house. 

“Hey! Wanna play?” Shiro called him from the other side of the lawn, smiling brightly as he motioned for Keith to kick the ball back to him. Keith looked from him to the ball and back again before he slowly walked to the wall and fumbled with the ball with his feet.

Shiro waited a few beats before he started jogging towards him. His legs looked too long for his body.

“Here, look, you push it with the inside” he instructed and Keith tried again, this time with more success.

That night he tried showing his playmate what he had learnt. He formed a ball out of clouds and emulated moving it between his feet, looking up with a glee he thought he hadn’t felt in months. 

The next day Shiro taught him some more. His aunt watched them while sipping a cup of coffee from the window, and the day after that it was saturday which meant his uncle could join them. Playing with an adult was difficult, and Keith was so focused on doing well that he forgot how much his uncle looked like a healthier, fuller version of his father; He forgot the lump which had sat in his throat everytime he looked at him.

That is, until he accidentally yelled out “Dad! Dad come look I-” and he stopped dead in his tracks. When he looked around him it was as if everyone’s faces had soured and his heart sank.

Oh right. His dad was dead.

This wasn’t his family.

The dream that night had ended in another very tight hug.

*****

Lance excitedly ran down the hallway with a box above his head.

“Moving day! Moving day!” He shouted as he weaved in and out between children and adults until finally he reached the enormous mountain of boxes standing beside the moving truck his parents had rented.

“Lance quiet down” His father reprimanded and went back to his rather loud conversation with two other men who had come to help out. Lance knew they worked at a repair shop down the street and that they often came by with treats for him when they and his father went to play their games in the cellar.

“Yes Papa!” He shouted back and put down his box. Janet and his older brother was slowly packing the boxes into the back of the truck and they gave him a short wave when they noticed he was watching them. 

He waved back and then ran back into the house to bring more boxes out.

He was excited that they were moving so soon, it meant he’d get to have his 12th birthday in the states! He’d heard they had all sorts of incredible things there, like children getting cars and computers for their birthdays! Perhaps he could even get a smartphone.

He giggled to himself.

Then he was bored.

“When are we theeeeereeee” he moaned from the backseat of the dingy old car his mother had managed to repair before they left. Now she shushed him from behind the wheel.

“Before dinner. Thio teach him some english while we drive.” 

“Ugh he’s so bad at it” Thio complained, but nonetheless brought out the little book he’d been gifted a few weeks ago. It was a hand-me-down, clearly well-loved from the way the pages had been dogmarked and the binding was falling apart. 

Lance moaned in tandem with his brother. He didnt like english! It was difficult and it made his tongue hurt.

Besides, Thio wasn’t a good teacher, Lance had decided, so he only listened half heartedly as Thio began reading aloud some stuff Lance barely understood.

“[The little lamb was going to-]”

Lance leaned over to rest his head on Thio’s shoulder, trying to read along.

It was a bedtime story, he thought, about a little lamb trying to find his friend who had been lost in the mountains. 

“[The little lamb kept hearing the bell, every night]”

Lance repeated some of the words quietly as Thio read them. 

“[Haering]” he tried.

“[But there were wolves in the ravine and they said lambs weren’t allowed here-]” Thio read over him, apparently either lost in the story or focusing on his pronunciation. 

“[Raviene]”

“[- So the lamb decided he wasn’t going to be a wolf. He-]”

“[Wolfa]”

“[- He just wanted to find his friend, he said-]”

“[Frriendo ..]”

Lance didnt realize he had fallen asleep until soft pink clouds blocked his vision and he thought for a moment he’d gone blind.

Then he felt a hand around his wrist and the sensation of being pulled and he grinned up at his playmate as he was dragged to a cloud.

He opened his mouth to tell him that he was moving today, he wanted to announce that he was going to be a united states citizen and that he was going to get a cellphone and a car and-

The other kid smiled and shook his head like he always did when Lance tried to talk.

So what if he had already given up!

Lance would never give up!

And if he couldn’t speak in the dreams? Well, he’d just have to find him in real life.

Find him.

His eyes widened. 

_ Ofcourse! _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading the first chapter - would you like to see more of this?  
> Im enjoying this universe so much, it really helps me through rough spots and I recently re-read the original Once upon a dream I posted a while ago which made me pumped to write some more!


End file.
